Macassa in Hamilton, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

The Right Honourable Vincent Massey

Photographed by Tim Boyd

1. The Right Honourable Vincent Massey Marker

Inscription. On the morning of June 25, 1958, His Excellency, the Governor General of Canada arrived in Hamilton by train from Union Station. His itinerary for the day was full but not difficult; officially open Vincent Massey Public School and the Royal Botanical Gardens' headquarters, shake hands with school children, and rededicate the United Empire Loyalist statue on Main Street. After a lifetime of service to Canada, Charles Vincent Massey had earned these simple things.

Massey (1887-1967) was heir to the Massey-Harris Company fortune (later Massey-Ferguson). But his devout Methodist family, privilege went hand in hand with work, study and service. He excelled at the University of Toronto. At Oxford, he befriended future Prime Minister Mackenzie King. At Victoria University, he was the Dean of Men, and ultimately, Chancellor of the University of Toronto. In mitary service, he enlisted with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and served on Prime Minister Borden's War Committee during WWI. In diplomacy, he served as Canada's first fully credentialed Ambassador to a foreign capital (Washington), as High Commissioner to Great

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Britain and as Canada’s representative at the League of Nations. In 1952, Massey was appointed the 18th Governor General, the first Canadian-born person to hold the office since Confederation.

Massey's legacy is perhaps best known in arts and culture. The National Library of Canada, the Canada Council of the Arts, Massey College, Hart House, the Massey Medals for Architecture, and the annual Massey Lectures, all, to some degree, owe their existence to Vincent Massey. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Massey the Royal Victorian Chain, making him one of only two Canadians ever to receive it.

City of Hamilton
2016

Erected 2016 by City of Hamilton.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Government & Politics. A significant historical date for this entry is June 25, 1958.

Location. 43° 13.567′ N, 79° 50.558′ W. Marker is in Hamilton, Ontario. It is in Macassa. It is at the intersection of East 37th Street and 7th Avenue, on the left when traveling south on East 37th Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hamilton ON L8V 4B6, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Photographed by Tim Boyd, November 20, 2023

2. The Right Honourable Vincent Massey Marker

this marker is on Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe,

in the Hamilton-Halton-Brant Area,

and specifically in the Toronto Metropolitan Area.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Fernwood Park Estates (approx. 0.9 kilometers away); Peace Memorial School / Peace Memorial Park (approx. one kilometer away); “Bobby” Kerr 1882-1963 (approx. one kilometer away); John William Kerr (approx. 1.4 kilometers away); Nora Frances Henderson 1897-1949 (approx. 1.5 kilometers away); Hamilton Public Library’s Mountain Branch (approx. 1.8 kilometers away); Early Black Community on Hamilton Mountain (approx. 1.8 kilometers away); Horatio George Summers (approx. 2 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hamilton.

Also see . . . The Governor General of Canada - Vincent Massey.

The Right Honourable Vincent Massey marker inset detail image. Click for full size.

3. The Right Honourable Vincent Massey marker inset detail

(Text) "I always like visiting schools. I am happy in their atmosphere. A school, of course, is not primarily a building. It is a community of persons - teachers and pupils - and the building is the frame in which they work. I shall, as The Queen's Representative, ask that the boys and girls of the Vincent Massey Public School should be given a half holiday this afternoon, and I would ask them to remember it as "The Queen's Holiday." I now have much pleasure in declaring The Vincent Massey Public School officially open. June 25, 1958 (Fifty-three years later, the building ceased to be a school, but "the community of teachers and pupils" on Hamilton Mountain continues. Photo courtesy Local History & Archives, Hamilton Public Library)

With Vincent Massey's appointment as Governor General, a new tradition began – he was the first Canadian appointed to the post, and from that day the Governor General has always been a Canadian citizen. If the innovation had any detractors, they were soon won over by Mr. Massey's exceptional qualities in the viceregal role.

(Submitted on November 21, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

The Right Honourable Vincent Massey image. Click for full size.

4. The Right Honourable Vincent Massey

As Governor-General of Canada, official portrait

Credits. This page was last revised on November 22, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 21, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 319 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 21, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.